S3930 - Detainee bill

[richlevy]

This stuff is hardly new. Santa Anna considered the Texan rebels to be unlawful combatants.

March 6: A bloody Mexican attack on the Alamo begins before dawn, and the Mexican forces slaughter all inside except for the women, children, and Travis' slave, Joe. Mexican losses number around 600.
March 20: Mexicans capture a Texan force retreating from Goliad, led by James W. Fannin, near Coleto Creek.
March 27: Santa Anna orders the execution of Fannin and 350 men at Goliad.

The movie 'The Great Escape' is based on a real escape in WWII. The escapees were all captured wearing civilian clothes but otherwise met the definition of lawful combatants in S3930. Of course, noone expected the Nazis to have the exact same litmus test as Congress. Rule number one is if you are going to commit a war crime, don't lose the war.

BTW, I do not consider this an example of Godwin's Law, but I'm sure someone is going to disagree.

The balloon went up in spectacular style. A 'Grossfahndung' (national alert) was ordered with troops, police, Gestapo and Landwacht (Home Guard) alerted. Hitler, incensed, ordered that all those recaptured were to be shot. Goering, Feldmarschall Keitel, Maj-Gen Graevenitz and Maj-Gen Westhoff tried to persuade Hitler to see sense. Eventually he calmed down and decreed that 'more than half are to be shot and cremated.' This directive was teleprinted to Gestapo headquarters under Himmler's order, and a list of 50 was composed by General Nebe and Dr Hans Merton.
One by one the escapers were recaptured and on Himmler's orders, handed over to the Gestapo. This was not the normal practice; usually, recaptured PoWs were handed over to, and dealt with, by the civilian police. Singly, or in small groups, they were taken from civilian or military prisons, driven to remote locations, and shot whilst offered the chance to relieve themselves. The Gestapo groups submitted almost identical reports that 'the prisoners whilst relieving themselves, bolted for freedom and were shot whilst trying to escape.'' This infamous expression has now passed into history as an euphemism for cold blooded murder.
Three escapers, Per Bergsland (aka Rocky Rockland), Jens Muller and Bram van der Stok, succeeded in reaching safety. Bergsland and Muller reached neutral Sweden, and van der Stock arrived in Gibraltar via Holland, Belgium, France and Spain. Out of the 73 others, 50 were murdered by the Gestapo, 17 were returned to Sagan, four sent to Sachsenhausen, and two to Colditz Castle. Word reached England of the atrocity; in mid July 1944 Anthony Eden, British Foreign Minister, made a speech in the House of Commons declaring that the perpetrators of the crime would be brought to justice.

Maybe at some point we'll start getting reports from Guantanamo of prisoners being eaten by sharks while trying to swim to freedom.